"So where should we go to do this?" Ren asked as they climbed back into his car.

"If you say Starbucks, I'm walking home." Pharaoh said flatly as he stretched out in the back seat, taking up all three seats.

"Well when you put it that way, Starbucks sounds like the obvious choice." Heidi said flatley making Ren laugh. "But I was actually thinking of The Book and Bean, downtown." She continued. “They have free wifi and it’s quiet.”

"Then lead the way." Ren said as he pulled off into the street.

"So Heidi." He asked as he made his way downtown. "What are you majoring in?"

"History with a minor in Anthropology." She told him as she watched all the houses and trees go by in a blur of warm colors.

"Oh so you're a history buff?" Pharaoh said leaning up in between the two of them. "You do know who I am don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Heidi said with a smile. "What are you majoring in Ren?"

"Foreign politics." He told her as he turned into the downtown area. "Where do I need to turn for this coffee place?"

"Right up here on the right is fine." She told him as he slowed the car, pulling into a parking spot in front of a row of old looking buildings. After they had all climbed out of the car, Pharaoh stretched his arms out high above him as if they had been traveling for hours, rather than 10 minutes as Heidi held onto her hat as another gust of wind hit them, tugging at her braids.

"So where is this place?" Pharaoh asked as two girls passed by, casting him flirtatious smiles.

"Right up here." Heidi said leading them to a two story brick building with large front windows showing into the inside. The outside of the window had "Book and Bean." written across it in white lettering.

A little bell chimed above the door as they entered and Heidi smiled as the smell of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the smell of the dusty secondhand books. Ren watched as a little boy entered behind them carrying several books and placed them on the shelves before picking out a new one and leaving with it, no transactions necessary.

"What is this place?" He asked as Heidi pulled several thick books out of her bag and placed them on one of the shelves by the door.

"It's almost like a library. People donate books that they no longer need and can take what they like. They can keep them or return them, it's entirely non profit, but donations are always welcome. Donations usually go to buying more shelves or repairs." She told them. Ren nodded as they made their way deeper into the coffee shop, as if impressed with the non profit aspect of the shop. Hiro still stood behind the coffee counter focusing intently as he poured steaming cream into a cup, proud of himself as he finished the attractive last touches on the latte as he set it on the edge of the counter for the girl who waited patiently. He smiled and thanked her as she took it and returned to her table where her bag and book sat waiting for her. The young man turned, ready to help his next guest and smiled as he saw Heidi.

"Hey Heidi, back so soon?" He asked resting his arms on the counter as he leaned over.

"Hi Hiro!" She replied cheerfully. "We're just here to work on a class project." She told him as she motioned over her shoulder at the two boys she had in tow.

"Cool, cool." He said smiling and waving at Ren and Pharaoh. "Can I get you guys anything?"

"Just a black coffee please." Ren said with a smile, "And whatever she wants." he offered, motioning to Heidi.

“Oh, don’t worry about that man, she already gets whatever she wants. She's got that employee perk.” Hiro explained as he began to make Heidi’s usual order.

"Nice, cheap date." Ren said with a smile, making Heidi blush. "So you guys are co workers." He said making the connection. "I'm Ren Bray, it's nice to meet you." He said, holding his hand out, introducing himself to the barista.

"Hiro Park, it's a pleasure." He replied, returning Ren's handshake. "You guys go ahead and take your seat, I'll bring you your drink." Hiro told Heidi with a smile.

"Thanks Hiro!" Heidi beamed as she led Ren and Pharaoh to a round table with an old leather couch next to it.

"You didn't mention that you worked here." Ren said as they sat down, "It's a cool place, if the coffee is good you'll probably be seeing more of me here."

"Yeah, I don't work as often as Hiro does, with him being the owner and all but I'm usually here most evenings." She told him as she sat down on the couch. Ren took a seat next to her, and Pharaoh sat on the opposite side of her, leaning back in the worn leather. She pulled out her laptop and set it on the table as well as her history book and a notebook. Pharaoh peered over to where Hiro worked behind the counter, watching him closely. Several girls watched Hiro closely, giggling to themselves as he worked. He smiled back at them, making them blush and whisper to each other quietly. Pharaoh wasn't used to being outshined by someone else. He stood up from the couch and crossed the room back to the counter where Hiro worked and leaned against it, waiting for him to be finished with Heidi's coffee.

"Need something man?" Hiro asked as he noticed Pharaoh standing at the counter.

"How would I go about getting a job here?" He asked, looking over his shoulder as several more girls entered the shop, ringing the little bell over the door.

"Oh, you'd fill out a job application and have an interview, do you know anything about coffee?" Hiro asked as he filled Heidi's cup with a fragrant coffee, topping it off with whipped cream, just how she liked it.

"I'm a fast learner." Pharaoh assured him.

"Alright man, well I'll bring you an application with her coffee, is that alright?" Hiro asked as he set the coffee on the counter.

"Don't worry about it, I'll just bring her coffee back with me." Pharaoh told him as he leaned back against the bar, smiling at the girls that just entered the shop. He waited until Hiro handed him his application and returned back to the leather couch with Heidi's coffee in hand.

"Pumpkin spice? Really? You are so basic." Pharaoh said as he set her coffee on the table and sat back down, reading through the paper that Hiro had handed him.

"Pharaoh, is that a job application?!" Ren asked in shock.

"That it is, my young Ward." Pharaoh muttered as he started filling it out. "Would I put your last name for my last name? Or do you think Pharaoh Akhenaten would work?" Pharaoh looked up at Ren who was just staring at him.

"What?"

"You're applying for a job?! Here?" Ren asked again in disbelief. Heidi looked from Pharaoh back to Ren, watching the exchange in interest. It was uncommon for Familiars to take jobs, simply because they usually want to stay with their Wards most of the time. Pharaoh also didn't strike her as the type with a powerful work ethic.

"Yeah, sure, why not!" Pharaoh said as he continued to fill out the paperwork. "You always tell me I need to be productive, maybe I'll make coffee and free books my passion in life."

"You're bullshitting. You want to pick up girls." Ren said flatly.

"I want to pick up more girls than that guy." He corrected. "Heidi, I'm sexier than he is, right?"

Heidi just laughed.

"See? She knows there's no competition between us and she feels sorry for him. This is going to be easy." Pharaoh said with a grin as he continued.

After Pharaoh had turned in his application and they had finished several hours of studying, the three packed up and left the shop. The street lights flickered on as the sun set behind the trees, throwing their shadows across the street, making them long and slender.

"So Heidi, are you free on Friday? Pharaoh wants to go to that Halloween party, if you want you can come with us?" Ren offered with a hopeful look. "You just have to wear a costume."

"I work on Friday, but we close at 8 that night. I can come after?" She suggested.

"Yeah, that's perfect! We'll pick you up from here and all go over together." Ren said with a smile. Heidi smiled as Pharaoh finally stepped out of the coffee shop, shutting the door quietly behind him. He scoffed as he looked across the street.

"It's not even Halloween yet. What a freak." He muttered as Ren and Heidi looked to where Pharaoh was motioning to. Across the street someone sat on a bench facing them, dressed head to toe in a scarecrow costume. Goosebumps raised on Heidi's skin as memories from her dream the night before flooded through her mind. He wore the same hat, the same burlap sack that covered his face. He had the same dead button eyes that seemed to be staring right at her. Something about him told her that he was watching her, with the same painted smile across the burlap bag. She hadn't thought about the dream or the scarecrow all day, but now the same uneasiness from before ate at her.

"Heidi?" Ren asked as he studied her face. "Are you alright?"

When she didn't respond he reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly, drawing her attention back to them. She jumped in her skin, turning her head to look up at Ren who watched her with concern.

"Are you ok?" He asked again as she looked back over to where the scarecrow sat. Now the bench sat empty, with no one in sight.

"I'm fine." She said quietly as she looked down the street to see if she could see where he had gone.

"Creepy fuck." Pharaoh muttered as he looked down the street where Heidi was looking, also looking for the scarecrow. "Let's get out of here." He muttered. "Before I find the creep and kick his ass. Just looking at him pisses me off."

"Both of you calm down. Forget about him and let go." Ren said, being the voice of reason.

"Yeah." Heidi said quietly in agreement as she turned and followed Ren towards his car with Pharaoh in tow.

When she climbed back into the front seat and buckled in, the tingling effect of fear still pulled at her heart as she looked out the window. All the bright colors that they had passed earlier were now gone as the sun had set completely. She felt a sense of relief as Ren pulled out of their parking spot and began driving her back to her home. She was happy to be going the opposite direction of the scarecrow. Pharaoh watched her face from the backseat. He didn't know much about this girl who held his Ward's interest, but generally he didn't dislike her. She was quiet and sincere and she gave off the impression that she didn't give a shit about what anybody thought of her. No amount of his comments fazed her and he liked that. It almost bothered him to see her so concerned with something.

"You sure you're ok Wendys?" Pharaoh asked, kicking the back of her seat slightly as Ren looked over at her through the dark. "You look like the scarecrow freaked you out pretty bad? He's just some Halloween junky, it's not a big deal." He assured her.

"I know it's not. It's just a weird coincidence with something else, that's what kinda freaked me out." She said, forcing a smile. "Don't worry about it."

"If you're sure." He muttered, leaning back in the seat looking in the rear view mirror where Ren cast him a glance.

"Here, Heidi, put your number in my phone." Ren said, handing her his cell phone. "I'll message you once we stop so you'll have mine. You can call me if you get freaked out by anything, ok?"

Heidi nodded and smiled as she saved her phone number for him and handed it back.

"Smooth Ren, I need to take a page out of your girl pick up book." Pharaoh said with a grin, hoping to embarrass his Ward. He smiled to himself as he watched Heidi smile softly and looked down at her hands. It was obvious that the girl had a thing for Ren, but then again most girls did. Pharaoh wondered if she was truly interested in getting to know his Ward as a person. It was clear that they knew very little about each other, but maybe that was a good thing.

"So Heidi, are you from around here?" Pharaoh asked, trying to strike up conversation.

"No, my family lives in Texas. I've been here for two years now." She told them.

"Did you come here just for school?" Ren asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Yes and no." Heidi said with a smile. "I was looking at a lot of schools in the north east because I want to see all the different seasons. I like to see the leaves change and I like to see the snow cover the ground." She explained.

"You moved here for the weather." Pharaoh said with a smirk "Strange motivations."

"It was mixed motivations." Heidi said with a light laugh. "But the weather definitely picked the region." She agreed.

"What about you? Are you guys from here originally?" She asked, turning in her seat to face Ren.

"We've always been in Virginia, yeah. Both my parents work in DC." He told her. "I guess I just wanted something a little smaller."

"I know what you mean." Heidi said, smiling at him. "Austin is really big too. I love how small and calm Salem is."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, small towns are so boring." Pharaoh chimed in. "DC was awesome, the Museums there treated me like the King I am! And the girls were fine as hell!" He exclaimed. Ren let out a laugh as he slowed to a stop in front of Heidi's small home.

"We'll go back and visit for Thanksgiving." He promised his Familiar as he opened the door to the car, stepping out into the night.

"Thanks for putting up with Pharaoh while we worked." Ren said as he walked Heidi up to the door of her house.

"You were right, he really isn't a bad person." She said with a smile. "He's actually pretty funny."

"Well I'm glad you think so." Ren said grinning from ear to ear. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He told her as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, taking a step back from her front porch. "Don't forget, you can text me or call me if you ever want to."

"I'll remember, thanks Ren." Heidi said as she opened the door to her house and stepped inside. "Good night Ren."

"Good night Heidi."

"You're so lame." Pharaoh said as he climbed into the front seat of the car as Ren slid back into the driver's seat. "That was like the perfect make out opportunity."

"She's cute, Pharaoh, I like her. There could be something there, I want to try to move things slowly." Ren told him as they pulled back out into the street. "I don't want things to end the same way it did with Kate."

"Kate is getting jealous of Heidi already man. She saw you two after class and was blowing up my phone about it. You wanna see?" Pharaoh offered, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"No, I don't really care what she has to say anymore." Ren said as a tight feeling in his stomach started to churn.

"Damn straight man, I like this side of you." Pharaoh said as he put his phone back into his pocket and peered out the window. As he turned the corner out of Heidi's neighborhood, he could have sworn he saw the scarecrow from earlier standing on the street corner, but when he looked in his rear view mirror, he only saw the street sign.

Something heavy sat in his stomach as he continued to drive away. He wasn't sure why.